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MotoGP championship leader Jorge Lorenzo took pole position Saturday for the Spanish Grand Prix.

The Yamaha rider edged fellow Spaniard Dani Pedrosa of Honda with a best lap of 1 minute, 38.933 seconds. Pedrosa, who was fastest in the morning practice session, finished nearly half a second behind to fill the front row.

Casey Stoner of Ducati will start from third while Lorenzo''s teammate Valentino Rossi goes from fourth after timing 1:39.642 during the 45-minute session.

Lorenzo, who also took pole at the Jerez Circuit last year before finishing third, leads the overall standings with 41 points after a victory in Japan. Rossi, the defending series champion, has 40 points and Stoner is third with 38 after two races.

In the 250cc category, Aprilia''s Alex Debon''s had the fastest time of 1:43.028 to take pole ahead of Hector Barbera. Gilera''s Marco Simoncelli will start third.

Julian Simon of Aprilia will start first in the 125cc category after timing a fastest lap of 1:48.237. The Spaniard is ahead of British rider Bradley Smith and Italy''s Andrea Iannone, who leads the overall standings.